


Lots of Little Acts of Love

by NovemberWings



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Before the show, Bisexual Female Character, Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Pride, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus is a good brother, Pansexual Character, Past Abuse, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sibling Love, So is Ben, The relationship between Vanya and Klaus is adorable, Vanya's hurt, We love Vanya in this house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 11:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18364892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovemberWings/pseuds/NovemberWings
Summary: Klaus is at gay pride having a great time when suddenly he runs into Vanya. More specifically, Vanya with bisexual flags on her cheeks runs into him. Upset that he knows Vanya runs home so Klaus goes to check on her





	Lots of Little Acts of Love

The music pumped through the streets loudly as Klaus enjoyed kissing this guy. He didn’t know who this man was but frankly he didn’t care. It was pride! And he was going to enjoy it.

The streets were full and the sun was hot. The smell of food, bodies and perfume swept through the air as he held the man’s shoulders and the man gently held his face. This was nice. This was fun. He might even get some tonight, at the thought he smiled into the guy’s mouth. The guy felt it and pulled back away from him.  
“What?” He half-shouted over the music from the party bus going by.  
“Nothing!” Klaus shouted back, “You’re just super-hot!” Ben rolled his eyes at that, but Klaus didn’t care because the guy’s smiled at him and his was adorable. His grin was both wolfish but also sweet. Klaus really hoped he was going to get some, but right now he just wanted to kiss him more. Klaus smiled back and lent in to continue kissing but someone either got shoved into or ran into his back, making him stumble forward and smack his face off the guys. He felt a stinging in his lips and he raised his hand to touch his lip, drawing his hand away he saw that he was bleeding. He cursed himself for being so clumsy, but he cursed whoever had run into him more. 

He whipped around to see the culprit.  
“Hey!” He shouted, about to go into a long speech about how you should watch where you’re going but his words promptly died on his lips when he saw who had run into him. Vanya. 

She had obviously been shoved and was pulling herself together. She looked up and a ‘sorry’ slipped from her lips. It took only a second for realisation to dawn on her face and the blood seemed to run out of her face, her eyes widened and her lip started to tremble. But as Klaus looked at her face despite the loss of blood her face remained full of colour… with the two bisexual flags painted on each cheek. Klaus was shocked into silence as he stared at his sister. She started out of her shock sooner than he did and suddenly she took off running through the mass of people.   
“Vanya! Wait!” He shouted after her. He started to run before he realised that he definitely wouldn’t be able to find her. He let his shoulders slump sadly. Why can he never handle a situation right…

He felt someone grab his arm and he spun back around to see the cute guy staring at him with an equally split lip.  
“Do you know her?” He asked, holding a bloody tissue to his mouth.   
“Yeah… she’s my sister.” Klaus said back, a frown firmly on his face.  
“Oh… does she know you’re…”  
“Yeah yeah yeah.” Klaus waved him off, “but I didn’t know she was.”  
“Well… not to be insensitive to the situation, but I think you’re cool. Can I get your number?” The guy looked embarrassed to be asking.  
“Sure.” Klaus said. “Gimmie your phone.” And the guy handed it over. He punched his number into a note numbly as he thought of Vanya’s face. She had looked terrified…

 

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Pride had finished and Klaus had decided to go and get a sandwich. He was sitting in some weird artisanal café surrounded by gay hipsters as he munched down.  
“What was that flag on her face?” Ben asked sitting across from him.  
“The bisexual flag.” He responded taking another bite.  
“Do you think she’s bi then?”   
“Well yeah. Why else would she have been at pride with that specific flag on her face?” He asked him making Ben hold up his hands in mock surrender. “Did she ever mention anything to you?” He asked Ben, who shook his head. Klaus continued eating whilst Ben thought.   
“You do know you’re going to have to go and see her right?”  
“Why?” Klaus asked.  
“You saw how terrified she was. She’s probably worried you’re going to out her or whatever.” Ben said shrugging, “plus, as far as we know she’s completely on her own in this. She needs someone.”  
“I never had anyone!” Klaus exclaimed a little louder than he probably should have, from the looks he got from a table of plaid wearing hipsters next to him. Ben raised his eyebrow.  
“Yes you did. Sure you didn’t have another gay one but you had me and Diego. You have to be blind to not have noticed how alone Vanya was all the time. And as well… it’s not like you come across as straight. You knew that we all accepted you because it’s so imperative to who you are. You have to go and speak to her.” Ben insisted strongly. Klaus knew that he was right. There had never been any doubt in his mind whether or not his siblings would accept him and he had always been super confident and comfortable with who he is… and the look on Vanya’s face earlier was anything but confident and comfortable. He sighed deeply.  
“It’s going to be awkward and hard.” He whined, making Ben roll his eyes.  
“Yeah but I’m sure you’ll live. Plus, she’s your sister. Help her.” He stressed.  
“Fine.” Klaus groaned, throwing down the crust of his sandwich onto the plate before grabbing his coat and getting up and leaving, with the door tingling behind him.

The remains of pride were obvious as Klaus made his way through the town centre. Glitter was on the floor with the dregs of party streamers too, and laughter clung to the air. Sadly, pride slowly disappeared as he got to the bus stop to go to Vanya’s area.

After a short bus he stepped off and walking a short way until he reached Vanya’s apartment complex. He stared up at the tall grey building.  
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” He shot a look to Ben who was standing next to him. Ben nodded.  
“It definitely is. Stop being a coward and go and talk to our sister.” Ben pointed to the door and there was no room to argue, so Klaus just sighed and made his way into the building and up the stairs. He stood outside of her door and took a moment to collect himself and try and prepare for a situation where he had no idea what was going to happen. He knocked.

And he waited. He waited a while and was about to knock again before the door opened slightly, the chain still keeping to door locked. Half of Vanya’s face was visible but was still extremely pale.  
“Klaus?” She questioned.  
“Yeah.” He smiled and gave a little wave. She stared for a beat to long so awkwardly Klaus asked, “errr can I come in?” She hesitated for a second, causing a pang in his chest. His sister shouldn’t be worried about letting him into her home.

In response she closed the door, slid the chain out of the lock and opened the door. She stepped to the side to allow Klaus to enter, her gaze trained on the floor. Klaus stepped in, followed by an invisible Ben, and walked down the very short hallway into the sitting room letting Vanya shut and lock the door.

The TV was on, a documentary about gender roles playing. On the coffee table there was a half-eaten dinner of a rice dish and a cup of hot, fruit tea. There was a blanket folded back on itself on the sofa which she had definitely just been sitting under and a couple stuffed animals strewn about the room. The room was cosy. It was Vanya. And Klaus realised that he had just walked in on something very intimate. Vanya’s real life. Sure he had been here before but when he arrived he was usually too drunk or too high to see anything past shapes or colours and by the time he woke up the room was pristine. She had always removed any touch of herself from the room whenever he randomly and rarely showed up.

This thought was confirmed when Vanya walked into the living room, dressed in pyjama trousers and a sloppy t-shirt with her hair down. She looked so young. The more disturbing thing that made her look young again was the perpetual look of fear on her face. Klaus thought back and realised that every memory he had of Vanya as a child she was either lonely or scared and the Vanya that stood before him today was no different. He had invaded her haven and now he was pretty sure that this had been a bad idea.  
“Are the others coming too?” She asked her voice incredibly small, looking down at her sock clad feet, nervously rubbing her hands together which had always been her nervous tick.  
“No?” He asked, he hadn’t been expecting that question, “why would they be?”  
“I don’t know.” She shrugged but from the tone of her voice she had intent behind that question, she just didn’t want to say what, but Klaus wasn’t about to push her.

Suddenly a voice-over started on the tv, flicking the camera away from the children in the documentary. The sudden British voice seemed to shock Vanya out of her nervous and anxious pose and she glanced up at the telly, allowing Klaus to see her drawn and stressed face.  
“Sorry.” She said and moved towards the coffee table next to Klaus, grabbing the remote and pausing the telly.  
“It’s cool.” Klaus replied, because it was.  
“Sorry about the mess too.” She said, moving to grab the blanket off the sofa, starting to fold it up. He watched her not knowing what to say or do. She had refused to make eye contact with him at all since he arrived and he watched her grab her plate of food and an empty glass on the coffee table. She walked briskly into the kitchen with her load.

“Talk to her you idiot!” Ben hissed at him.  
“What am I supposed to say?” But he cut himself off briefly as Vanya re-entered the room, pushing her hair behind her ear.  
“Sorry. If I knew you were coming over I would have cleaned up.” She gave an awkward chuckle casting a glance around the room.  
“No it’s fine, V. Seriously don’t worry I burst into your home.” He laughed awkwardly too, but his didn’t have the touch of fear that Vanya’s did. Everything she did seemed tainted with fear.  
“Right. Errr. Okay. I’ll go get changed into something more appropriate.” She said starting to go towards her bedroom door. Klaus couldn’t believe this. How could she be blaming herself for this. It wasn’t even important. He reached forward and grabbed her elbow to stop her and explain that it didn’t matter and that he just wanted to talk.

As he grabbed her elbow she flinched and pulled her arm out of his grasp, turning around to face him and stare at him with wide eyes. She held her arm where the ghost of his hand still lay.  
“Vanya.” He said, knowing the hurt came through in his voice.  
“Sorry. Just a little jumpy I guess.” She shrugged but Klaus couldn’t take this anymore.  
“Stop saying sorry!” He didn’t shout but he definitely raised his voice. She shrunk at his tone, so he softened his voice, “You haven’t done anything wrong.” He spoke in earnest, “I just came over to talk to you about earlier.” He said kindly and sat down cross-legged on her sofa and patted the sofa’s cushion in front of him.

There was a clear hesitation in her face but after a moment of stalling she moved and sat tensely in front of him. 

And there they were, sitting in silence with Klaus having no idea what to say.   
“Klaus!” Ben exclaimed starting Klaus into action.  
“Are you bi?”Klaus blurted out, almost shouting in her face. He cringed when he saw her wince and lean away from him. “It obviously okay if you are.” He hastened to reassure her. He watched as she closed her eyes and a silent tear fell down her cheek. “Oh, V, don’t cry. C’mon it’s okay.” He chuckled nervously.

She opened her eyes and looked down into her lap, watching her hands pick at her nails.   
“Please don’t tell the others.” She whispered, the desperation in her voice was palpable.  
“Vanya…” He said quietly at a loss. If he thought his heart hurt before then he was wrong. His chest ached with pain.  
“Please!” She exclaimed in a quiet voice more tears falling. “Please, Klaus, please.” Her breath was coming quickly, she was hyperventilating through her stuttered speech. “I don’t know what I’d do if they found out. I don’t know what they’d do or say!” She was unconsciously rocking back and forth, she reached her hand up to wipe at her wet face before she circled her arms around herself and squeezed herself tightly.

“Okay okay. Enough. Alright.” He spoked softly as Vanya continued to cry and attempt to comfort herself. He repositioned himself so he sat next to her and pulled her into an embrace. She was tense before she was forced through emotion to melt into him. She reached up behind him and clung onto his shoulders, her desperation was clear in that her finger tips dug into his skin. She sobbed into his shoulder, completely wracking her body. He gently rubbed her back as he waited for her to finish.  
“Please don’t-“ she hiccupped, “tell.” She continued to cry but more in control now,  
“I won’t tell, silly.” He shook her a little bit making her wetly chuckle. “But even if they found out it would be okay. They all know about me.”  
“It’s different.” She sniffled and pulled back. He frowned in misunderstanding.  
“How’s it different?” She wiped at her face.   
“Oh you know.” She waved him off, “You’re you and I’m me.”  
“That makes no sense…” She smiled sadly.  
“Yeah… it does. They love you. You know you’re quirky and silly and while they get annoyed at the stuff you do sometimes it’s always in a ‘oh-that’s-just-Klaus’ way” She jazz hands a little at that before subduing herself. “You’re you. You wear who you are well and they love you for it… but I’m me. I don’t have a power, I’m not special, I’m the family disappointment, if you’re being generous enough to remember me… pretty much everyone hates me or at least dislikes me… and I can’t give you guys another reason to hate me or even remind you about how right you are to hate me.” A couple more tears welled over and she sniffed, pulling her sleeve over the end of her hand and wiping the tears away from her cheeks, wetting the fabric.

Klaus was stunned. He never ever thought that she felt like this. He didn’t hate her and he knew for a fact that Ben adored her and Allison missed her all the time. Diego, sure he was pissed at her right now, but that’s Diego. She’s the only person Five is nice to and Luther is just a mystery to everyone. He didn’t understand this.  
“That’s not true.” She laughed sharply at that clearly not convinced. “It’s not true!” He stressed emphatically. He sent a glance over to Ben who was watching the scene a few tears running down his face. “We love you, Vanya. I mean I can’t speak for everyone else but I love you. You’re my sister of course I love you. Of course we love you.” He moved to pull her into a hug but she pulled back, moulding herself against the arm of the sofa. He got the message and backed off.  
“That’s not funny.” She said her voice low, sad and even a touch angry.  
“No. It’s not funny because it’s not a joke.” Klaus shrugged. “Vanya, please believe me that I love you and you being bi or gay or straight or whatever isn’t going to change that.” He paused for second taking in the stubborn and guarded look on Vanya’s face, “And I love you with or without a power.” There was a shift in her expression to one of a shock and he knew he hit the nail on the head so he decided to keep hammering. “Dad was a piece of shit. He sure as fuck didn’t have a power and he thought he got to tell us what to do with ours. It’s bullshit. He didn’t love you any more or any less… he just didn’t love any of us.”  
“He despised me. He hated me the most.”   
“I don’t think so. I think he hated us all the same but even if that were true why would you want someone like him loving you. Vanya don’t let Dad hurt you like this. He’s not worth it!” She sniffed and stood up walking into the kitchen and coming back a moment later with tissue paper blowing her nose. She sat back down, once again staring at her lap. Klaus was at a loss again and he glanced at Ben for help but he was just sitting on the arm of the sofa dry tear streaks on his face. He was completely useless.

“Obviously it hurts me that I was never good enough for him… but the main reason why it upsets me is because he made all you guys hate me too. I’m just never… good enough. I try and I try and I try and I’m never good enough.” Her voice was tense and drawn and it was clear that she was trying to cry again, “and now I’m fucking bisexual on top of all of that.” Klaus froze at Vanya’s swearing. He had only ever heard her swear once that’s when she had a broken hand and had put too much pressure on it. She let out a bitter laugh, “you know… I don’t think it’ll affect what Allison thinks too much but Luther is going to be disgusted. I don’t even know what Diego’s going to do, he already hates me enough.” She rubbed at her arm in distress. She took a deep breath in and slowly let it relax and Klaus could see that it helped her relax a little.

“You don’t have to worry about anyone finding out through me. I’m not going to tell anyone. It would be super shitty if I did. But, Vanya, you are good enough. You’re you and that’s amazing. I mean you’re in a super good orchestra and can play violin like a fucking boss! I mean if we’re talking about family disappointments that would be me! You’re in a classical orchestra and teach children violin. I’m a depressed drug addict who is basically homeless.” He laughed a little trying to lighten the mood.  
“Well, yeah, in a normal family that’s how that would work…” She said a little ruefully, obviously mourning the life she never had.  
“Sure our family isn’t normal.” He put air quotes around normal, “but our family is normal in the sense that we love one another no matter what. And since you’re part of our family then that means that we love you.”  
“Well we’ll see.” She admitted, and no it wasn’t everything but she was conceding a little and Klaus knew that right now that’s all he was going to get.

“Can I hug you? Because I love you and I don’t like seeing you upset.” She looked a little embarrassed at that but nodded her affirmation, making him smile. He leaned in and pulled her into a tight bare hug, rubbing her back and she clung to him and buried her head in his neck. It was nice.

After a moment she pulled back.   
“So you’re not going to tell anyone?”  
“No one. I won’t tell a soul!” He shot a glance over to Ben who gave him the thumbs up.  
“Thanks, Klaus.” She said, her voice dripping with gratefulness.  
“It’s no problem at all. Don’t mention it.” He paused for a moment. “So do you have a partner?” She shook her head and said a little no with a sad smile on her face, “well you don’t need a partner. You’re a strong independent women!” He exclaimed playfully.  
“Yeah!” She said back, quietly and not with as much enthusiasm but he appreciated her playing along.

“Also, V?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Can I stay the night?” She startled a little before smiling and agreeing.  
“Have you eaten?”  
“Well I could eat.” He grinned cheekily.  
“I’ll go plate you something up.” She said going into the kitchen.

“Well done.” Ben praised when she left.  
“Thanks.” He said, “did you know that she thought that.” Ben mutely and sadly shook his head. “I should spend more time with her.” Klaus said resolutely. He didn’t like the idea of Vanya sitting alone all the time thinking about how her family supposedly hated her. He understood that Dad had fucked her up, he’d fucked them all up but Vanya in a different way. While he physically abused them and neglected them. He had emotionally abused Vanya and neglected her in very different ways and them being stupid kids went along with it. No wonder she thought the way she did. He knew that changing her mind would take more than one conversation, it would take lots of little acts of love.

And he needed to be for her specially. He could relate to some of the stuff she was going through and so he decided to be here with her more. As she bought the plate of food back in, along with her own, his phone went off. He gratefully accepted the plate and put it on his lap.  
“What is it?” He asked pulling his phone out of his pocket.  
“Paella. It’s a Spanish tomato-rice dish.” He nodded.  
“Nice.” His eyes scanned over the message from an unknown number… must be the guy from earlier. The text read;  
Hey, it’s Dave. Fancy meeting up?

He quickly crafted a response;  
Can’t tonight. With my sister. But will soon?” 

The reply was almost instant.  
Definitely :)

He smiled at his phone and unknown to him Ben stood by completely shocked and so proud of his brother.  
“Is that the guy from earlier?” Vanya asked started to eat her dinner again.  
“Yeah.” He said, throwing his phone down onto the couch.  
“Oh… you going over?” And while she tried to hide her disappointment she wasn’t very good at it.  
“Nah. I’d rather stay with you, ear paella and watch a riveting documentary.” He smiled gesturing to the screen with his fork.  
“You sure?” The doubt clear in her voice.  
“One hundred percent.” He nodded and grabbed the remote letting the documentary play again. He could feel Vanya’s eyes on him as he watched the screen.

“Thank you, Klaus. Really.”  
“No problem.” He glanced at her, “love you, V.”  
“I love you too.” And for the first time in ages he felt really good about himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya guyss!!  
> I really hope you enjoyed this. I had a comment on a fic a while ago talking about Klaus and Vanya at pride and this is my brain baby from that comment. This was so much longer than I expected it to be too.  
> I love the relationship between Klaus and Vanya and there needs to be more fics!! So if you know any really good fics please let me know! Also head cannons. I have so much time for Klaus and Vanya sibling relationship headcannons. 
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this! Reading comments its actually amazing!! Love you all!


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